


Cowboy Like Me

by moony_andthe_stars



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28555533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moony_andthe_stars/pseuds/moony_andthe_stars
Summary: Muggle! AU. Remus Lupin is a con man who is determined to get what he wants. That is until he meets Sirius Black. Inspired by Cowboy Like Me by Taylor Swift.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Cowboy Like Me

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Mentions of alcohol

Remus stood at the edge of the ballroom, watching the rich men and women dance around the room as he sipped from his glass of wine. He was at some high society ball that he hadn’t been invited to, searching for his next meal ticket. Remus crashed these events often, knowing that with a pretty enough smile he could get in anywhere. He’d meet the gaze of various important men from across the room, enticing them with his golden eyes. Each long, fixed stare conveyed a message, as if a secret code was embedded in Remus’s honey irises. They would find their way to him sometime later that night, in a secluded hallway or closet. There were many elites with secrets in unhappy marriages, a fact that Remus could easily use to his advantage. He learned early on that men who came from old money loved nothing more than to spend it, showering him in gifts he could sell and cash he could spend.  
So there he sat at the end of the bar, eyes scanning the room for someone donning that specific air of loneliness. He tugged at his tie and observed.  
The ballroom was grand edging on gaudy, high vaulted ceilings seemingly coated in gold. The party was held in the ballroom of a rich benefactor who had nothing better to do than to throw money at shallow causes and to throw gauche parties. The air was thick with fake niceties and the lofty laughter of old rich women who had downed too much champagne. Remus hated these parties, but he had to make a living somehow. Hustling for the good life was exhausting but the end always rewarded the means. He could forget how miserable these parties were when he finally had what he wanted.  
His eyes eventually landed on a familiar man with sleek black hair pulled into a bun. He recognized him, from these very parties in fact, but he hadn’t seen him for years. He remembered the man’s piercing gray eyes, his overconfident posture, and his clunky black boots. Remus used to stare at him during these events, reveling in the shape of the man’s shoulders and the way he’d shed his jacket and roll up his sleeves.  
The last time Remus had seen him was when he was nineteen, just starting to learn the life of a conman. Back then he had been on the cusp of adulthood, masquerading as a man when he was only just a boy. The man appeared to be close to Remus’ age and mysterious. He had always seemed carefree and out of place. Though his appearance screamed aristocrat, his smile held the mischief of a vagabond.  
The man had disappeared abruptly, never showing his face at another event again. That was, until tonight.  
He looked just as beautiful as Remus remembered, but still painfully out of reach. He seemed like a wild and free spirit, someone who wouldn’t be scandalized to be seen with him. He wasn’t the type of man that Remus could scam and milk for money. Remus didn’t have time to waste on anything else. But momentarily, sliver met gold, the stranger’s eyes strong and unwavering. Remus nearly shivered under his gaze but looked away quickly.  
That night Remus spoke to a man in politics, whispering in hushed voices in a back hall, promises of riches if Remus promised not to tell. It was just as he planned. The gentleman left to return to the party and dote on his unsuspecting wife, leaving Remus to lean against the wall with a satisfied smirk. He felt a presence next to him and he turned, meeting the iron eyes he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind all night. The man smirked at him and crossed his arms. His bun had become slightly messy, pieces of hair falling to frame his face. The way he was looking at Remus was dangerous.  
“Care to dance?” he asked, making Remus’s cheeks go pink. Remus leaned his head back against the wall, letting his eyes roam over the stranger’s body before turning away.  
“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he said after a moment. The man grunted in response, his eyes never leaving Remus’s side profile.  
“I’ve seen you before haven’t I?” he asked Remus with a furrowed brow.  
“I come to these events quite often,” Remus replied. The man narrowed his eyes.  
“But the thing is,” he said, “I know everyone who’s invited to these little soirees and I don’t know you.” Remus smiled to himself and took a lazy look back towards the man.  
“Whoever said I was invited,” he answered with a chuckle. A grin broke out across the other man’s face and Remus felt something in his stomach twist. Remus couldn’t risk taking a liking to this gorgeous stranger no matter how sharp his cheekbones, as love could never fit into his lifestyle. It was a realization he had come to a long time ago, a sad one, but it was the truth.  
“So what is your name then?” he asked with a smirk. Remus thought for a moment, trying to decide whether he should give his given name or an alias.  
“Remus Lupin,” he said finally. The man raised his hand for Remus to shake. Remus grabbed his palm, the stranger’s grasp warm and firm.  
“Sirius Black,” he said, his eyes glinting. Remus faltered for a moment.  
“As in…” he began.  
“Walburga and Orian Black? Yes, I’m their son,” he said, interrupting Remus. Remus swallowed thickly and looked away, a pit forming in his stomach. For some reason, some part of him had wanted Sirius to be like him: a wandering man with no destination and a knack for fooling the rich. But it seemed that he had been mistaken, Sirius was one of them, among the ranks of the men he had swindled, and Remus had just told him his name.  
“Not that they’d ever call me that,” Sirius said quickly as if sensing Remus’s internal panic. “Left home when I was eighteen. I’ve been disowned and disinherited,” he said, bitterness ebbing into his voice. Relief flooded through his veins for a moment, a feeling he felt guilty for seconds later.  
“That must have been hard,” Remus said after a beat. Sirius just shrugged and loosened his tie.  
“In all honesty, I’m happy to be away from them,” he said, “And it’s fine. I get by.” Remus nodded.  
“So what do you do now?” he questioned, “You know, to get by?” Sirius smirked at him and gestured to the ballroom.  
“I do this,” he answered, “There are plenty lonely women on the other side of the marriages you ruin, Lupin.” Remus let out a surprised laugh, not quite expecting Sirius’s bluntness. Sirius only smiled wider at the sound f his laughter, giving Remus a look that could only end in disaster.  
Remus’s night ended in the coat closet with Sirius’s lips pressed against his own, ignoring the party and the potential scheming for the feeling of his hands running through Sirius’s dark hair.  
Remus wasn’t sure what he expected to come out of that night. No contact information had been exchanged. After pressing several searing kisses to Remus’s lips, Sirius had straightened his coat and exited the closet, leaving Remus behind.  
It was a month until Remus attended another party wearing a fancy new suit that a mayoral candidate had purchased for him, secretly of course. This party was in the garden behind some manor, a white tent pitched among the flowers and lanterns hanging from trees. As soon as Remus pulled back the tarp and headed into the heart of the banquet. He convinced himself that his eyes were searching for his next conquest, not for Sirius. But he froze when he caught sight of the man across the crowd with his hand resting on the forearm of an expensive-looking woman.  
Remus sighed before heading into the throng of the crowd, reminding himself that the fleeting moment he had shared with Sirius had been nothing and they were both here now with a purpose. He couldn’t get sidetracked or too attached. So as the night wore on he met with various men, planting the seeds for his various affairs and subsequent funds.  
As the party dwindled he felt a hand on the small of his back and he looked up to catch Sirius’s burning gaze. Sirius pushed past him, using his carefully placed hand to maneuver around Remus, his eye contact lingering as he headed towards the exit. Remus counted to a hundred in his head before downing his drink and excusing himself from the conversation and heading outside.  
Remus left the tent, walking around the side in an attempt to find Sirius. After a short walk, he was met with Sirius’s back, the other man looking up at the sky. A twig broke under Remus’s foot, alerting Sirius to his presence. He spun around with a wide smile.  
“Took you long enough,” Sirius said before stepping towards him, “I almost thought you didn’t read my signals correctly.” Remus chuckled before Sirius grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in for a blazing kiss. When Sirius pulled back he had a self-satisfied smile on his face, his grey eyes reflecting the stars.  
After that night, every party that Remus attended became less about profit and more about the chance he could catch a glimpse of Sirius. He felt himself falling down a rabbit hole, feelings he had always scorned now bubbling to the surface. He didn’t know what Sirius wanted from him, but frankly, he didn’t care. Remus couldn’t offer him money or anything material, all Remus could offer was himself. He had been in this business long enough to know that he wasn’t enough for men like Sirius. But he was too caught up in the excitement of clandestine meetings and secret rendezvouses to dwell on it. The way that he’d catch Sirius stealing glances at him from across the room while simultaneously attempting to swindle one of his mother’s friends sent electricity down Remus’s spine every single time.  
After their fourth encounter, Remus had the courage to slip his number into Sirius’s pocket, praying that his confidence was good and not a misstep. He sat by the phone anxiously for hours, waiting for the man he felt himself quickly falling for to call. And to Remus’s delight, he did.  
After a particularly slow Christmas party, Remus found himself once again in Sirius’ arms. After months of parties, the arrangement had become less about their surface-level attraction. Gone were the nights of senseless kissing and grappling for honest human touch. Now, nights were spent learning of their pasts, tracing fingers across shoulders, and memorizing the shape of each other’s smile.  
Here, Remus laid with his head resting in the crook of Sirius’ neck, breathing in his expensive scent and listening to the sound of his breathing. He thought the other man was asleep, his eyelids fluttering against his cheeks and his muscles relaxed. If Remus had suspected that Sirius was conscious, he never would have been so bold. He swiped a strand of dark hair from Sirius’s cheek and pressed a kiss to his jaw before murmuring the words that he had never thought he would say.  
“I love you,” Remus whispered, the honesty of it all hitting him square in the chest. In the past, the words had only ever been used as a weapon, as a tool of manipulation. But as they left his lips, his eyes trained on Sirius, he knew that he had never once meant something so much in his life. The words were completely unselfish and authentic. Remus for once didn’t want or expect anything in return.  
The air around him stilled as Sirius whispered that he loved him too.  
Months later Remus stood in the lounge of a country club, tying up some loose ends. He sat at the end of the bar when a conversation to his left caught his interest. A few ladies that he knew Sirius had conned were lunching together, discussing Remus’s lover.  
“I haven’t seen the boy in ages,” one of them said, scandalized.  
“Not since the Malfoy’s Christmas party,” another one added with raised eyebrows.  
“Quite a handsome young man, it’s a shame he’s run off again,” a third woman said. They all nodded in agreement and sipped their tea. Remus smiled to himself as he listened, knowing exactly where Sirius had disappeared to.  
When Remus arrived home he walked towards his bedroom, kicking a familiar pair of black boots out of the way. He climbed back into bed and was immediately met with Sirius pressing languid kisses to his jaw.  
“I missed you,” he murmured into Remus’s neck. Remus smiled, pushing Sirius’s hair out of the way and leaning in for a real kiss. Once they parted Sirius curled up into Remus’s side, his head on his chest.  
“I love you,” Remus whispered, pressing a sweet kiss to Sirius’s temple. He had said the words to countless, people many times. But the words were only spoken when he needed something from them. It wasn’t until Sirius that the words meant anything. And Remus knew that never in his life would he want to say the words to anyone else.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr @hxlyhead-harpies


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